Snacks present a significant emerging private label business opportunity, according to proprietary research conducted by Kerry. The company sheds light on the sector, highlighting there is ample growth opportunity in the snack marketplace for grocery and private retail labels to capture the imagination of consumers.
Kerry has analyzed its 2021 research on private label trends and created an easy-to-navigate online microapp entitled Seizing the Private Label Snack Category designed to provide information about the results and identify the exciting opportunities shaping the private label snacks space.
Kerry’s private label snack research microapp allows users to explore product packaging examples and reveals what claims and ingredients resonate with the various consumer types.
The overall snack market is worth US$115 billion with 2 percent annual growth projected to 2023, according to Kerry’s report.
The pandemic’s effect
COVID-19 has driven a significant shift in consumer retail behavior, opening up additional private-label markets.
Speaking to FoodIngredientsFirst, Jocelyn Carter, activation marketing director at Kerry, says the company has recently monitored how retail brands are starting to take the lead to set the trends.
“Retail branded snacking has been around for quite a bit, however in the past, it was very much a me-too space. Retail brands are coming out with forward-thinking innovation, and this is accelerating product development in the snack marketplace,” she explains.
Facilitating snacking
Snacking has always been a part of how consumers eat, and what the pandemic did was expand snacking by allowing customers increased access to their pantries while they spent more time at home, Carter details.
As the shift back to the office happens, Kerry expects consumers to keep up with their snacking habits, so brands will need to ensure they have portable and on-the-go ready snacks for when that happens.
Carter believes that when packing their snacks, consumers will look for healthier and better-for-you options.
Notably, she also expects nutrition-forward snacks to continue to grow in popularity, and with that, she predicts a growth in formats like salty snacks with new and unique ingredients.
“As consumers continue to look for real ingredients, formats like shelf-stable cheese snacks and refrigerated snack bars will continue to grow and evolve, further blurring the line between dairy and snacking,” Carter details.
“Customers want something more interactive. Microapps allow us to develop that interactive model of informing and educating. Microapps enable marketers to let consumers ‘choose their own adventure.’”
Adventure seeker or traditionalist?
Kerry’s private label research uncovered two main types of private label consumers and illuminated prevailing perceptions of brands and product attributes across key categories.
Insights related specifically to snacks have been broken out and discussed to inform and provide direct guidance on tackling snack product innovation.
Private label consumers can be structured into two key groups: “adventure seekers” and “practical traditionalists.” Each of these types has unique and vital attributes and desires that should be fully considered when creating new snack products.
These findings are in line with a recent snacking report by Innova Market Insights, which found that 35 to 40 percent of consumers expressed a preference for novel flavors, whereas 20 to 25 percent preferred traditional tastes.
Further, the results highlight how Kerry can collaborate in bringing these types of products to life using our taste, flavor and nutrition solutions backed by the wide-ranging skills of our experienced applications teams, says Carter.
“The disruptive nature of today’s snack market means that new private label products have a significant opportunity to gain market share by innovating in these categories to attract consumers who, in rising fashion, want snacks that offer new taste experiences and functional benefits.”
